Projection of energy requirement for a sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract This paper presents a projection of population growth and energy requirement for addressing socio-economic development in sub-Sahara Africa. There is dichotomy of access to energy sources or electricity between the Northern Africa and sub-Sahara Africa. By year 2050, Africa will be the only continent that will see a double-digit increase in population. This implies that there will be a significant increase in energy demands. Schemes to reduce the aggregate power can play a critical role in ensuring sustainable energy supply in Africa. Although this will require huge capital investment, the potential for interregional electricity trade supports the return on investments. Our analysis show that, it could have been possible to offset the deficit in Rwanda (-13 MW) and Tanzania (-485 MW) by the surplus in Ethiopia (+1212 MW), Uganda (+112 MW) and Kenya (+52 MW) in 2018. Furthermore, it is evident that there can be a sustainable increase in energy generation by tapping into renewable energy sources. Taking the case of hydro-generation, the sum total potential of Niger river basin, Nile river basin, Zambezi river basin and Congo river basin far exceeds the energy used in Africa in 2019. This further supports, the concept of intra-regional and inter-regional electricity trade.